TD Cowen Cuts Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Price Target to $18.50

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $20.00 to $18.50 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 14.07% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BEN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Franklin Resources from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

BEN opened at $21.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.95. Franklin Resources has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $30.32.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In other news, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $336,142.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,341.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson bought 100,000 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $1,908,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 89,308,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,704,000,303.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Franklin Resources Inc sold 7,657 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $336,142.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,341.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 231,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,537,637 and sold 24,024 shares valued at $1,051,375. Insiders own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Franklin Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources in the third quarter worth $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Franklin Resources in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 47.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.